The MBA Student Voice

I Took the GMAT, Now How Many MBA Programs do I Apply to?

If you are comfortable with your GMAT score and are applying to an MBA program this year, here are a few tips for selecting an appropriate number of schools to apply to.  Keep in mind that this is my personal opinion …

First, although there is no magic number, I would recommend a minimum of three schools.  Look at the class profiles from each school that you are considering, and then select a “reach school,” a “competitive school,” and a “back-up” school. 

Briefly, UCLA Anderson’s Mean GPA is 3.5, with a mid-80% range between 3.2 and 3.8; its Mean GMAT is 711, with a mid-80% range between 660 and 760; and it received about 3,700 applications for about 360 slots.  (From the Class of 2010 Profile). 

Also, apply only to schools that you would actually attend.  If you are like most applicants, your time and resources are limited.  Concentrate them on putting forth the best applications for the schools that you are seriously considering and would attend if you were accepted. 

Finally, try not to let financial aid or the cost of attendance influence your application decision.  If a school has accepted you, it wants you to attend and will likely work with you to put together a financial aid package to meet your needs.  The package may consist of fellowships, grants, and/or loans.  Again, focus on putting together the best application for the schools that you want to attend.     

Law School v. Business School

Many folks ask me how business school (b-school) differs from law school (l-school), and several of my b-school classmates at one point seriously considered attending l-school instead of b-school. So, for those of you who are considering both b-school and l-school, I thought that I would highlight a couple of big differences between the two: grading and the nature of assignments. Keep in mind that I am generalizing …

First, grading in law school is mostly (if not 100%) based on your final exam. Grading in business school is based on a combination of individual class participation, group projects, midterms, individual assignments, and finals.

Also, the assignments in law school are mostly reading (some writing) assignments. For example, in my Property class, we are generally assigned one or two cases to read before each meeting, along with some supplemental materials, and we discuss the cases as a group during the meeting.  Assignments in b-school vary widely, depending on the particular course. You may have problems sets in an Economics course and case write ups in a Strategy course.  With respect to class discussions, most l-school professors will “cold call” and use some form of the “Socratic Method.”  B-school professors are more likely to solicit class participation (but will also cold call) and to lecture.

There are some other differences that impact the overall atmosphere, e.g., average age, years of work experience, student groups, networking opportunities, etc. Overall, I really appreciate getting the benefits of both worlds.

Hispanic MBAs

The 2008 National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) conference provided an excellent networking opportunity for attendees.  I attended the Conference with a group of UCLA Anderson students, including students from Latino Management Student Association (LMSA) and African American Students in Management (AASM), and representatives from both MBA Admissions and the Parker Career Management Center (Parker CMC).   

UCLA Anderson students interacted with recruiters from diverse employers, ranging from not-for-profits such as the Broad Foundations to global consulting firms such as Deloitte, as well as with UCLA Anderson alumni.  Many of our students received on-the-spot interviews for both internship and full-time positions.

Prospective students got exposure to current UCLA Anderson students as well as to MBA Admissions and Parker CMC staff.  Also, our Parker CMC staff strengthened UCLA Anderson’s relationships with numerous recruiters.

Overall, the Conference was a great success.  UCLA Anderson’s participation in the Conference is just one example of UCLA Anderson’s commitment to increasing diversity in business school.  You can learn more about diversity at UCLA Anderson by attending Embracing Diversity (11/8-11/10).  

The GMAT: How Low Can You Go?

Most business schools will publish their average GMAT score, and many schools will also publish a GMAT range, which will probably be the mid 80% range (10% of students are below and 10% of students are above).  When researching business schools, “How low can you go?” is not a stupid question.  Of course, you want to get the highest score possible.  If you are near the lower end of the tail, you will probably need to compensate for this in another part of your application.   

A couple of general tips on the GMAT ... First, you should aim to take it only once, but give yourself some time to retake it, in case you do not hit your target score.  Second, take a prep course.  Most applicants take one, so not taking one will likely put you at a disadvantage.  I took two distinct courses (several years apart), and read some material from an additional course, and found that they taught very similar test taking strategies.  The key do doing well on the GMAT, I think, is applying the strategies to many, many, many, many, many problems.  Did I mention that you should do many problems?   

Joint Degrees and the MBA

One of the many benefits of obtaining an MBA at UCLA Anderson is that UCLA Anderson provides access to all of the resources that the UCLA campus has to offer as well to other graduate schools at UCLA.  It is not unusual for MBA students to take advantage of these resources and of classes at other graduate schools.  Many students, including myself, pursue joint degrees.

Because of my background and future goals, I decided to pursue a JD/MBA.  Generally, candidates for joint programs will begin their joint degrees at the other graduate school and do their second year at UCLA Anderson; however, with a JD/MBA, you can do your first year at UCLA School of Law or at UCLA Anderson.  Other joint degrees that are not unusual are the MD/MBA and the UP/MBA.  I will touch on the JD/MBA in my blog, but if there is a particular area that you are interested in, in addition to business, I encourage you to explore the possibility of a joint degree. 

Riordan Programs and the MBA

I got my first exposure to the MBA and to UCLA Anderson through the Riordan Fellows Program several years before I applied to business school. 

One of the many benefits of the Program is that it provided invaluable insight on UCLA Anderson.  Through the Program, I met faculty, admissions staff, students, and alumni.  I was physically on campus and actively participating in the UCLA Anderson community.  I enjoyed my experience so much that I have remained involved in several roles following the completion of the Program.

By the time that application time came around, completing UCLA Anderson’s application was (almost) a breeze.  I actually enjoyed completing UCLA Anderson’s the application and found that it was very distinct from other schools’ applications.